FROM THIS EPISODE

Kevin McCarthy was chosen today by fellow Republicans as Majority Leader in Congress, the one who decides what legislation actually gets to the floor. McCarthy’s district in parts of Bakersfield and the Antelope Valley is heavily Latino. Is that good news for immigration reform?

Also tonight, another California Republican may stand in the way of the biggest expansion of Yosemite National Park since 1939. Will that be a re-election issue against Tom McClintock by a fellow Republican in November’s Top-Two general election?

Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield has been elected Majority Leader of Congress to replace Eric Cantor, who lost his primary in Virginia to another Republican. With Speaker Nancy Pelosi now Democratic minority leader, California has unprecedented clout… or does it? Evan Halper reports from Washington for the LA Times.

The National Park Service has a chance to add 793 acres to Yosemite National Park, extending its boundaries to all the land originally envisioned by conservation pioneer John Muir, who first proposed the park back in the 1880’s. But the Congressman who represents Yosemite and surrounding areas is saying, “No.” He’s Republican Tom McClintock, who’s also in a fight for re-election against another Republican, Art Moore, who came in second in the recent Top-Two primary. Paul Rogers covers science and the environment for the San Jose Mercury News and KQED, public radio and TV in San Francisco.